How Effective Are They? Exploring the Impact of Contingent Faculty on Undergraduate Education

• Published in: Review of higher education Vol. 30; no. 2; pp. 91 - 123
• Main Author: Umbach, Paul D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press 2007
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Academic Rank (Professional); Aging (Individuals); College Faculty; College students; Comparative Analysis; Educational Practices; Educational Research; Employer Employee Relationship; Employers; Faculty Promotion; Graduation Rate; Higher Education; Individual Characteristics; Institutional Characteristics; Instructional Effectiveness; Job Performance; Labor; Learner Engagement; Nontenured Faculty; Outcomes of Education; Part Time Faculty; Productivity; Program Effectiveness; Quality of education; Remedial Mathematics; Researchers; Social Exchange Theory; Teacher Student Relationship; Tenure; Undergraduate education; Undergraduate Study; United States > US
• ISSN: 0162-5748; 1090-7009; 1090-7009
• DOI: 10.1353/rhe.2006.0080

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of the use of contingent faculty on undergraduate education. This study presents three research questions: (1) To what degree do contingent faculty members engage students in good practices less frequently than their tenured and tenure-track counterparts?; (2) What effect does the proportion of contingent faculty on a campus have on the frequency that faculty engage in good practices?; and (3) Does the effect of having a contingent appointment vary between institutions? If so, can these differences be explained with institutional characteristics? The sample of faculty used in this study comes from the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement administered by the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research at 132 colleges and universities in spring 2004. In this study, the author constructed six composites to represent engagement of students in educational practices linked to increases in student learning. Hierarchical linear models (HLM) were used to examine institutional and individual characteristics related to the outcomes of interest. The results were presented in terms of class structure and preparation, faculty interactions with students, and part-time slope. The author presents limitations and implications of the study. (Contains 5 tables, 1 figure and 2 footnotes.)